笼子

• Pinyin: lóng zi
• Hanzi breakdown: 笼 = 竹 + 龙 (bamboo + dragon — originally a bamboo container); 子 = noun suffix

Meaning

Cage; an enclosure made of bars or wire used to contain animals, birds, or objects.

Used both literally (bird cages, animal cages) and metaphorically to describe confinement, restriction, or entrapment. Appears in the political phrase 把权力关进制度的笼子里 (put power in the cage of the rule of law), a well-known Chinese governance concept.

Examples

1. 动物园里的狮子关在宽敞的笼子里，但仍不时踱步，流露出野性的本能。 The lions at the zoo are kept in a spacious enclosure, yet they still pace from time to time, revealing their wild instincts.
2. 市场上卖鸟的摊贩将各种鸣禽关在精致的竹笼子里，吸引路人驻足。 At the market, bird vendors kept all kinds of songbirds in delicate bamboo cages, drawing passersby to stop and look.
3. 他感到自己的工作就像被困在笼子里，缺乏创造的空间和自由。 He felt his job was like being trapped in a cage, with no room for creativity or freedom.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, metaphor, animals

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 她打开笼子，让受伤痊愈的鸟儿重新飞回了大自然。(She opened the cage and let the recovered injured bird fly back to nature.)
• 反腐工作的核心之一就是把权力关进制度的笼子里，防止滥权行为。(One of the core elements of anti-corruption work is putting power in the cage of institutional rules to prevent abuse.)

Don't Say

• 将笼子与笼罩混用 — 笼子 is a physical cage or enclosure, while 笼罩 means to envelop or shroud (Don't confuse 笼子 (physical cage) with 笼罩 (to envelop or shroud))

Origin & History

笼 (basket/cage) + 子 (noun suffix)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal